Nestlé Petcare sales decline as wet cat food drives underlying growth

SWITZERLAND – Nestlé has reported a decline in its petcare segment in the first quarter of 2026, even as underlying growth improved, supported by strong demand for wet cat food and expanding capacity in key markets.

Sales for the petcare segment reached CHF 4.4 billion (US$5.6 billion), down 6.4% from CHF 4.7 billion (US$5.9 billion) in the same period last year. 

Despite the decline, organic growth stood at 2.7%, with Real Internal Growth (RIG) at 1.7%, reflecting modest volume gains. Pricing contributed 1% to growth.

“Overall, Petcare growth was subdued during 2024 and most of 2025, but has shown signs of improving momentum over the last two quarters,” said Anna Manz. 

“Q4 and Q1 are distorted by customer order phasing in the US, which boosted growth in Q4 by a bit more than a percentage point, and that reversed in Q1. Over the two quarters, the effect is neutral.”

She added that recovery is being driven largely by the U.S. market, particularly in wet cat food.

“The improvement in Petcare is largely coming from the United States,” Manz said. 

“This is driven by additional capacity coming online, allowing us to finally service unmet demand in wet cat, where the market is growing.”

Regional performance reflects mixed trends

Across regions, performance remained uneven, with petcare continuing to drive overall growth.

Region	Sales	YoY Change	Organic Growth	RIG
Americas	CHF 9.1B (US$11.6B)	-6.7%	3.8%	1.2%
AOA	CHF 5.2B (US$6.6B)	-8.7%	2.4%	1.1%
Europe	CHF 4.6B (US$5.9B)	-0.8%	3.9%	1.1%

In the Americas, petcare accounted for 32% of total zone sales, with low single-digit organic growth driven by pricing in wet cat food, while RIG remained flat.

“Underlying momentum is improving, driven by a good category growth in cat and by our super premium brands, One and Fancy Feast,” Manz noted.

In Europe, petcare recorded mid-single-digit organic growth, supported by brands including Felix and Purina Pro Plan, while also gaining market share. In Asia, Oceania and Africa, the segment posted low single-digit organic growth and continued to expand its share despite broader market pressures.

Capacity expansion supports shift toward cat nutrition

Nestlé highlighted a structural shift in pet ownership trends, particularly in the United States, where cat ownership is rising.

“In the United States, since post-COVID, we’ve seen an increase in cat adoption because it’s much easier to go back to work and have a cat at home than a dog,” Manz said. 

“We’re seeing cat adoption growing between 2% and 3%, which is strong.”

She added that, for the first time in a decade, the number of cats in the U.S. has surpassed dogs, reinforcing demand for cat-focused nutrition products.

To support this shift, Nestlé has been investing in additional production capacity, particularly for wet cat food, with new capacity coming online in the first half of the year.

“We have good underlying momentum in PetCare in the United States, and even more importantly for us, we need the capacity to be able to deliver on that opportunity,” Manz said.

At the group level, Nestlé reported total sales of CHF 21.3 billion (US$27.2 billion), down 5.7% year on year. 

Organic growth reached 3.5%, while RIG stood at 1.2%.

“Our first-quarter performance demonstrates that our RIG-led growth strategy is delivering,” said Philipp Navratil, adding that the company remains on track to achieve organic growth of 3% to 4% for 2026.

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